


A Duty

by floatfreely



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Anger, Angst, Can be taken as ship material tho, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, implied PTSD, no ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:46:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26398882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatfreely/pseuds/floatfreely
Summary: I hear the little guy finally opened up about his troubles to the princess while they were shovelin' food. Surprisingly, she opened up right back. Said somethin' princessy like, "I guess we're the same, you and I." Hmm... Sounds heavy.
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	A Duty

“Link?”

  
Zelda moved her way up to her appointed knight, who turned around to look at her.  _ Silent as always, _ the princess thinks, adjusting the satchel’s strap on her shoulder.

“I’m going to eat by myself tonight. Everyone else is asleep, and I haven’t eaten yet. Would you care to join me?”

The Hylian seemed to pause to think for a moment before nodding, standing up from off the knoll and walking down an old, off-beaten path. The faded dirt road was littered with dead leaves, tree branches, and rocky debris, but Zelda closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, the cool autumn air flowing through her veins. Opening her eyes again, Zelda stared up at the night sky, the black littered with dots and dots of white, like salt spilled on a tablecloth.

“Do you see that one, there? The one that looks like a series of blades crossed together?” Zelda asked, pointing up at the sky. Link looked up, squinting, before nodding in conformation. “That constellation’s said to be made up of the spirit of four warriors who slew and sealed an ancient demon known as Vaati. Do you see it?”

Link nodded and faintly smiled, and Zelda swore she saw the briefest flicker of… something on his face.  _ What was that? Nostalgia? _ Beginning to walk again, Zelda moved past her appointed knight, Link staying behind for just a second longer than usual before returning behind the princess. The duo walked for a bit longer before Zelda spotted a grassy knoll with a large tree at the top, overlooking the Lanayru Wetlands.

“This looks good.” Zelda sat down under the tree and Link joined her at her left, sitting down with his knees bent and arms resting on them. Zelda, meanwhile, crossed her legs and pulled out a small bundle of twigs and sticks from her satchel, taking out a small set of flint and steel and striking the two objects against each other, to no avail.

“Oh, bloody…” Zelda muttered under her breath before continuing, attempting to light the fire a dozen more times before stopping, leaning her head back with an “ugh” as she fell into the grass. “I’ll never understand how you’re able to use those things. They never catch for me.”

Link simply grabbed a spare knife from his belt - a small, iron dagger - and placed the flint on the firewood. Confused at what he was doing, Zelda moved to ask but Link suddenly slammed the knife on the ground, causing sparks to erupt every which way. Covering her eyes, Zelda was soon greeted by the harsh sound of iron on rock stopping and the warmth of a fire covering her body. Looking back, Link was putting the dagger back in his belt.

“Wow,” Zelda exclaimed, causing Link to look over. “Who taught you to do that?” Link looked away, not answering her.  _ Why…? Why won’t you talk to me? To  _ anyone?

Sighing, Zelda looked back at the fire. It was warm, bringing a nice bit of comfort as the air around the duo started to chill. Feeling her stomach growl and hoping Link didn’t hear, she stood up, brushing off her leggings.

“I’m getting quite hungry. Are you?” Link looked up and, surprising Zelda, nodded. “Here,” she motioned towards the Hylian. “Give me your knife. I know how to make a pot out of wood and stone.” Link hesitated before drawing his knife, giving to Zelda by the hilt - the hesitation infuriated her, but she couldn’t quite place why.

“It’s quite simple, really,” she continued, bringing the blade up to the tree. “Gather some stones over by the path.” As Link nodded and left, Zelda sighed as she continued to cut into the bark. What is  _ wrong _ with her? Why was she so mad at him? He’d done nothing wrong - only his duty, nothing more. His sworn duty. ...Something Zelda couldn’t do. Something she would never be able to do. Breaking out of her train of thought as she heard Link’s footsteps from behind, Zelda gathered the bark she had cut and began fashioning it into a pot, planting two sticks in the ground and intertwining another between them, hanging the pot above the fire.

“Great. Thank you for the help. Just put the rocks in there, and I’ll pour the water.” Link nodded and grunted slightly as he lifted the rocks and put them in the makeshift pot. Zelda followed suit, pouring a bit of water into the container. “There we go. Now we wait.”

As the two waited, Zelda’s mind began to focus less and less on the water that she hoped would boil soon and more onto… well, what she usually thought about. Herself, mostly. Link. The other Champions. Her failure. Her lack of skill. Her burden. Looking over at her knight, she couldn’t help but feel envious. He was strong - she’d been acquainted with Link a little over 6 years ago, when he first joined the Royal Guard, and he never once failed. Heck, the story of how he got to be her knight was another amazing feat.

The sound of bubbling woke Zelda from her daydream and she stood back up, reaching into her pouch.

“Let’s see here… ah, here we go. I’m really glad we got to set up camp near Zora’s Domain, because there was an abundance of salmon downriver.” Propping up a makeshift cookbook and taking the dagger out of her belt, Zelda began to cut the fish. “There’s a pretty good risotto you can make with these. I’ve only made it twice before myself, but Impa taught me how to cook a lot of things. It’s handy to know when you’re out in the wild.”

Scraping the cut up fish, bits of rice and salt, and some butter into the pot, Zelda put a lid over the dish and waited again, sitting back down. Link looked at the horizon, his gaze fixated on something Zelda couldn’t quite see.

“...Is something troubling you, Link?”

He didn’t reply. Zelda moved to sit next to him, crossing her legs. This time, Link moved, scooching over a bit to the right to make room for the princess. Maybe Link was just looking at the view. It was breathtaking - from where they were sitting, Zelda could see Mount Lanayru with Naydra flying overhead. 

Smelling the air, Zelda could faintly smell the smoke from the fire. It was a stinging smell, a kind that’s powerful enough to get into your mouth when you’re close, but was fine from this distance. Inhaling again, Zelda noticed that it was  _ bad. _ It wasn’t a very pleasant smell. ...Wait.

_ No. _

“No, no, no, no, no.” Rushing over to the pot with Link behind her, Zelda opened the cooking vessel only to be met by a plume of smoke, the rice burning in the pot. Zelda threw the pot to the ground and felt her eyes begin to itch. It happened again. It happened every time. Every time, she tried her hardest. Every time, she set out to complete her task. Every time, she  _ failed. _ She always tried her hardest to please everybody - Father, Mother, Link, Daruk, Mipha, Urbosa, Rivali, and herself. And every time, she’s failed. Kicking the pot, whose materials were now ruined by burnt rice and blades of grass, she began to cry, sitting down with her head on her knees, her breath hitching.

Link ran behind her, stopping a safe distance away. Slowly approaching the princess, he placed a hand on her shoulder which she threw off angrily.

“Don’t touch me!”

The Hylian held his hand back in shock, before setting it back at his side. Weighing his options, Link opened his mouth, but Zelda stood up and interrupted him.

“Let me guess what you’re going to say! ‘It was just an accident,’ right? You don’t get it! Everything in my  _ life _ is an accident! Me being Princess of Hyrule is some divine prank! An accident! A fluke! Just like everything else! I’m worthless! I can’t get anything done! Don’t you get it? I’m a  _ failure! _ ” Zelda screamed the last part out and held her head, collapsing to the ground again. For the briefest of moments, a small flash engulfed the area around Zelda’s hand, although the princess herself didn’t seem to notice.

“...No you’re not.”

The sudden, calming voice shocked Zelda. Looking up at Link, he was crouching down in front of her, one knee on the ground. The princess flinched as Link put his hand over hers, but relaxed when he gave it a comforting squeeze.

“You’re no failure. Nobody in this world truly  _ is _ a failure. We all have potential, even if some may find it harder to achieve than others. Make no mistake, Princess,” Link ended, positioning his free hand under Zelda’s left, a small yellow triangle barely visible under the translucent gloves. “You have potential the likes Hyrule has never seen. That  _ I’ve _ never seen. You’re the most powerful person I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“You overstate it,” Zelda scoffs, looking away. This earns a slight chuckle from the Knight, making Zelda’s ears turn a noticeable shade of pink.

“Am I? You’re Zelda Miyizuka Hyrule XIX, are you not? With that name alone, with that  _ heritage _ \- you, alone, are more powerful than you know. A direct descendant of the Goddess Hylia, and the Princesses Zelda of the past. Only you can manifest that power. Only you have the power to truly defeat Ganon when he returns, once and for all.”

“How do you know I can do this? I fear… I fear I’m not strong enough.”

“Because I was in a similar position,” Link unexpectedly remarks, catching Zelda off-guard. “I’m… from a long-forgotten village. This town, Outset, was my home for 13 long years. I became a master swordsman there by the age of six, and I learned honor, duty, and fulfillment there. My family’s legends are intertwined with yours, Princess. Legend says that our family fought alongside your ancestors many times against Calamity Ganon.” Link takes a sharp inhale before continuing. “I believed those legends. Of a hero of the sky, of four heroes in one soul, in a hero that could control time itself, and in heroes that could control the wind, transform their bodies, and conquer the realms of twilight and the surface. I trained myself day after day, honing my skills since I could pick up a practice sword.

“Then, one day, I had to put those skills to use.” Link looks wistfully into the distance and Zelda stares at him in shock, in awe of how much the usually-silent man was speaking. “It was right after I had turned 12. We were… attacked. Moblins and Bokoblins poured over the hills, and Lynels tore down the roads. I was preparing for this all my life. I held my father’s sword in my hand, looked a Moblin in the eyes… and then dropped that sword and ran for my life.

“I have lived the shame of that day for the past seven years. Even after I joined the Royal Army just a few short weeks after and got into the Royal Guard as the youngest knight in Hyrule’s  _ history _ , I never outlived the shame of that day. I felt like I killed all those people. My sister. My mother. My father. All of my neighbors, and friends, and comrades in war games and tug-of-war matches.

“But, still, for some reason, I persevered. I didn’t want to - I didn’t know why I was doing it, but I kept pushing on. I had even thought…” Link cleared his throat, looking to the side, ending the sentence early. “In all honesty, when I first grabbed this sword out from the pedestal, I thought I was going to die. I didn’t consider myself worthy. But, even when my hands were burning and my arms felt like they were withering away, I kept pulling until it came out of its old pedestal. Do you know why?”

Zelda shook her head, not wanting to interrupt Link’s dialogue.

“Because I knew I had - and still have - a duty. A duty to you, to your father, to the other Champions, and to this kingdom. And I swore that I would uphold that duty with my life. Even if I look down at my hands and see the blood of my family or I hold my sword and feel the flames of my house on fire, I swore and I swear-” he tightened his grip on Zelda's hand for emphasis "-that I will protect you with my life."

As Link ended his speech, Zelda didn’t move, stunned. Unable to find the words she wanted to say, she cleared her throat before taking a small handkerchief out of her pocket and dabbing at her eyes with it.

“...I suppose we’re not so different after all, are we?”

**Author's Note:**

> (Yes, Zelda's full name comes from Miyamoto and Tezuka's names combined and BOTW being the 19th mainstream LoZ game released.)
> 
> Whew.
> 
> Hi, all!
> 
> This is my first time writing anything outside of Ace Attorney, and the first time writing something in a bit over a week. I had a bit of burnout, but writing outside of Ace Attorney and getting into another fandom seemed to push that aside.
> 
> I recently finished Breath of the Wild and the chemistry between Link and Zelda is honestly at its strongest in the series in this game. I'm not much of a shipper myself, being ace/aro tends to do that, so this isn't meant to be shippy. If you want it to be shippy, though, that's totally fine! I've done the same with other characters.
> 
> Let me know if you think I should improve on anything! Thanks a lot for reading!


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